Get our latest updates via email

Search This Blog

Posts

After watching some highlights from this week’s RAW, I was ready to concede that the Red Brand won the week. It’s probably going to be a standard SmackDown Live episode with a tag match in the main event or something. But man, I’m so glad I’m never right about anything.

KofiMania has been gathering some steam for weeks now and WWE finally took notice. Vince McMahon, being the occasional genius that he is, thought of a clever tactic to make Kofi Kingston a bigger deal by—stay with me—taking his WWE Championship opportunity away from him. I know, I know. Put down your pitchforks for just a minute. I mean, yeah, you should be upset, but you should also be excited because KofiMania is definitely going down in April.

So who did Vince McMahon appoint as Kofi Kingston’s replacement? The returning Kevin Owens. Wait, isn’t he the same dude who bashed Vinnie Mac’s head with his head? Yep. Isn’t he the same dude who beat Vinnie Mac’s son to a pulp inside Hell in a Cell? Double yep. Isn’t he the s…

Last week, I said something along the lines of the previous RAW arguably being the best RAW in recent memory. Well, this week, I'm saying the same thing again: This week's RAW might just be the best RAW in recent memory. With an influx of veteran producers who were once from another promotion, WWE seems to be stepping up its game in terms of storylines. Can they continue their streak, though? Or will they get lazy and comfortable again once AEW finally reveals itself to be no more than a clothing company? DM me your hatemail for that comment after we go through the stuff that made RAW RAWesome this week (as well as the stuff that wasn't really that good).

First up, the Big Dawg is back on WWE programming after beating the hell out of leukemia. He's apparently in remission now and he's cleared to compete, saving Dean Ambrose from being ganged up on by McCorbley and Elias later in the show, but not without help from his tinier but definitely more entertaining substi…

WARNING: Major SPOILERS ahead for this week's episode of Monday Night RAW.

YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Okay, there are two reasons for my attempt at a guttural "yeah!" The first is that it's just so fun to channel Josey Scott of Saliva and pump yourself up. The second and more important reason is that Batista is back-with-a-capital-B-and-an-exclamation-mark-maybe!

This week's RAW ended on a crazy note, with The Animal having attacked Ric Flair backstage, taking the Nature Boy out right before the latter's 70th Birthday Celebration. An emotionless Batista then looked into the camera and addressed Triple H, asking, "Hey, Hunter, do I have your attention now?"

Hot. Damn.

Batista vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 35 wasn't a match I was thinking of seeing, especially after Triple H injured his pec at Super Show-Down late last year. But if Trips is healthy and ready to go and Batista's onboard, then sign me up! This is a special attraction and a Wrestle…

Apologies for not being around last week, as there is an internet issue I need to resolve. In the meantime, a lot of things have been happening on the 205 Live horizon while I wasn't covering it. Let's tackle them one by one, in chronological order:First, the announcement of a new #1 contendership tournament for WrestleMania. I'm glad that they're doing this for the second year in a row, as it gives 205 Live something special to work with on the road to the biggest event of the year. Of course, it's different now as we already have a champion on one side of the coin, and this could be a real chance to elevate someone new to the scene in a hardworking way. (Not to mention it involves everyone on the show as much as possible.) I hope they go all in and make this tournament a yearly thing.Akira Tozawa gets to look really good against Buddy Murphy. At this point, Murphy is 2019 Neville: pretty much the same look, almost the same skillset, and definitely the exact same…

Surprise, surprise! WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks were nowhere to be seen in NXT UK, most likely afraid of losing their titles to this brand's women's division. Or so I'd like to think. Chances are, they're excluding the UK brand from their title defenses simply because, well, there aren't any established potential tag teams in the women's division this side of the world. Yet.

That said, that doesn't mean NXT UK has an inferior women's division, oh, most certainly not. Going by this week's NXT UK Women's Championship main event, they certainly are no less than world-class. Also this week, the Coffey Brothers fought Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster (again), the NXT UK Tag Team Champions Zack Gibson and James Drake yelled at everyone, and someone from NXT made their NXT UK debut. Spoiler alert: He's not a fan of kneeling.

Hello there, it's February. By now, some of you may have fallen with your New Year's Resolutions. Here at Smark Healthy, we simply can't have that. Your new workout gear isn't going to end up as athleisure clothes, that's for sure. That gym membership isn't going to go to waste. It's time to address the problem. And actually, the problem, or the perceived problem, is time.

"I don't have two to three hours to spend in the gym.""There's not enough time in the day.""My workout takes too much time."
If you have an hour, you have time to work out. That's the God-forsaken truth. An hour is more than enough, when used wisely. Let's see why.

Before anything else, I'd like to put this thought out there. By now, you've probably watched both RAW and SmackDown Live and have been wondering why our favorite NXT main eventers appeared on both shows without prior explanation. To add more confusion, they also brought their respective titles with them. Even more confusing is the fact that Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, two people with a complicated NXT rivalry, seem to have debuted on both shows as #DIY without even addressing their rivalry.

This week's episode of NXT might not have all the answers we seek right now, but rest assured that this show feels like the beginning of another important era unfolding. I've got a feeling the next few weeks will be interesting as NXT starts to be recognized as an official third brand that is on par with both RAW and SmackDown. This episode feels like it's the catalyst that will set all the wheels in motion and give meaning to what just happened on both main brands.

Welcome to another edition of #FinisherFriday! This is Wreddit_Regal, bringing you an analysis of Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir's team finisher.

Over the course of four years (coincidentally), the Four Horsewomen of MMA have made their own moves in the sacred WWE ring, with Ronda Rousey leading the path as the current RAW Women's Champion. Shayna Bazsler followed suit on the NXT brand, becoming a two-time NXT Women's Champion. Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir had rather humble beginnings, serving as Bazsler's lackeys to ensure the Queen of Spades always has an advantage over her opponent.

Good morning, and this is the Grapevine! This section of Smark Henry is where we round up all the founded and unfounded rumors abound the pro wrestling scene that you may have missed over the week. Remember to take everything with a grain of salt!

Here's everything we know about the surprise NXT callups this week:Vince McMahon made the call to bring up Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa after various circumstances left him "feeling off." These circumstances include declining ratings, the Undertaker appearing for this year's Starrcast, and All Elite Wrestling's momentum. Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream will also apparently be joining SmackDown. Vince asked for the brand's four biggest stars, and Triple H reportedly did not know about his plans at first. The four NXT stars will appear on both main roster shows as well as NXT for the time being while they receive a push. It is still unknown how this move would affect the plans for TakeOv…

We’re months away from the next NXT TakeOver, but NXT literally did a takeover this week on the main roster. Ricochet, Aleister Black, Tommaso Ciampa, and Johnny Gargano delivered impressive performances on their first night out as main roster talents. While I initially thought they were exclusive to RAW, they also made their presence known here on SmackDown Live and I couldn’t be more excited. Plus, we have #KofiMania running wild and it’s awesome!

But let’s single out our newest call-ups one by one. I’d like to start with Aleister Black because he’s just awesome. I really wish he stays on SmackDown Live and takes Undertaker’s place as the Blue Brand’s newest supernatural being. Because really, Bray Wyatt didn’t live up to the hype. Black got the NXT callback spot of the night when he faced Andrade, the man he beat for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: New Orleans. Everything about his main roster debut was perfect. Someone add him to the SmackDown Live roster already, stat!